Top 10 Problems with IT Certification

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6. Degree vs. Certification vs. Experience

There is still tension in the market over the value/need for a degree versus
the need for a certification versus the need for experience. The battle rages on
with absolutely no resolution.

Because certifications have been devalued, what is really needed when you
want to apply for a job in IT? A degree? If so, which degree covering which
disciplines?

Many universities offer the CIS or MIS degree. But when it comes to running
an enterprise environment, don’t you need to know a bit more than what is
offered in the CIS or MIS programs to administer a multi-platform/application
environment?

Nevertheless, most advertisements require a degree. What about the folks like
me who came up when the CIS or MIS were not even on the radar? How many
Master’s degrees does a person need to get a job? Academics look down on
certifications, yet they require numerous certifications when they are hiring
staff to support their infrastructures.

I have several former students who have Master’s-level degrees and no
certifications. They ask me which certs to get so that they can get a good job;
they cannot find one with just an MIS.

So how do we assess a person’s skills and experience? Maybe there
should be a balance between certifications, education, and experience. What
about the person who has no degree, has no certs, but has 20 years’
experience and could write most of the books except s/he is too busy running the
enterprise 24/7?

The answer is that the degree wins in 2007/08, which puts those with
certifications and/or experience at a distinct disadvantage.

7. HR People Are Not In Touch with the Real World

HR people, including headhunters/recruiters, give no guidance and do nothing
to help the situation in IT. In fact, most just muddy the waters by asking for a
laundry list of certifications that are completely other-worldly.

I have met no one who meets a majority of the requirements that most HR folks
list on IT jobs.

Some want no part of certifications.

Some “demand” the most up-to-date certifications.

Others want it all.

This leads to complete confusion when planning a course of action if someone
wants to enter IT through the certification path. If I were coming into IT now
and looked at some of the unrealistic certification criteria required for
entry-level jobs, I would find another way to make a living. It is discouraging.

8. Budget Cuts

Cuts have killed training dollars—and consequently the certification
market—because it costs money to get certified. So unless you bypass the
training with brain dumps, you will not entertain certification as a viable path
because training is not available.

Additionally most employers will not train their folks toward certification
because of the fear of losing their investment. When people get certified, they
start looking for greener pastures. Employers are gun-shy, especially in times
of budget cuts.

9. Glut of Certified People

This one should probably be higher in the list. But it is a major reason for
the waning interest in certification. There are just too many certified IT
folks—those that know what they are doing and the paper certs who have
killed the market.

Simple supply and demand. When the supply goes up, the demand goes down.
There has to be a way to weed out those who have killed the market.

If the supply were not as high, the demand and wages would improve.

10. No One Knows Which Certs Matter

No one really knows which certs you need to get a job, to get a foot in the
door, and to prove that you know your stuff, while not scaring people off.

In short:

No one knows how many certs you need.

No one knows which certs have value today.

Until those two points are addressed, people get fed up and move onto to
another path. If a guru could tell you to get this cert and you will get a good
job, you would be all over it. But those days are over for many of the reasons
previously mentioned. Will one cert do it for you or do you have to have 10 or
20?

The best advice I can give you at this point is to assess what the
environments are using in your geographical area and what the demand is. Then
look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself whether that is what you want to
do. If you have passion for it, get the needed certs.

Conclusion

So we have problems. Significant problems. I would not give up on
certification. In the next article I will outline a strategy I would take if I
were starting out now and wanted to go the certification route in
2007–2008.

Then I will outline my solution to the problems with IT Certification: A New
Program that revisits what now exists but presents it in a new package. It does
not address all the problems, but the majority of them are put in their place,
and I don’t have to tear the building down to renovate the kitchen.